Custom Star Wars Stormtrooper Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer (Tutorial)

I confess.. I am a geek girl. I LOVE Star Wars. I can't help myself.

Also.. Ever since I've gotten my Silhouette I've wanted to deck out my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. I have seen so many great ideas to dress up that boring appliance, I loved the thought of making mine more personalized.

So this project is where those two loves meet.

My mixer is more than 15 years old. I got it when I got married and back in 'the old days' the only color it came in was white. So when I decided I was going to dress it up, a lot of the ideas I liked weren't going to work. I needed to start with something that was mostly WHITE to begin with..

The rounded top of my mixer and the big black attachment port reminded me exactly of a stormtrooper's helmet. So that was my starting off point.
The first thing I did was sketch out what exactly I wanted on each part of the mixer with dry erase marker:

Then I googled for the images I wanted, and printed them out to check the scale.

I used my Silhouette to cut out the images out of vinyl.

I decided to use Oracal 651 which is permanent exterior vinyl. I picked this type vs. the removable stuff because I knew this mixer would get a lot of wear and tear. I needed to be able to wash it etc.

Before applying it to the mixer I made sure it was really really clean. (I am not sure my mixer has been cleaner in the past 15 years!)

After applying the vinyl there was quite a bit of puckering on the round surface. It is possible to adjust the cut image to take into account the curve, but I am taking the lazy route (yes.. I'm sure hard care Silhouette users are gasping right now!)

To fix the puckers I just snipped the vinyl with a scissors

And stuck it back down with a slight overlap:

When I was done, you would never know the difference:

I repeated the process with all the other images and text:

I decided on the phrases "May the forks be with you" and "Eat this soon you will" since I wanted the whole thing to be a little toungue in cheek. I mean, come on! This is a STAR WARS MIXER!

On the mixer stand I decided I would have a "dark side" and the "good side." I used Darth Vader, a Tie Fighter and the symbol of the Galactic Alliance on one side:

Princess Leia, and X-wing and the symbol of the Rebel Alliance was on the other:

Plus I think the storm trooper on top is perfect. The curve of the mixer and the white background is EXACTLY like I imagined it.

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